How To Cultivate Wisdom

A startling study from the University of Virginia found that when forced to be alone with their thoughts—no phones, no music—many participants preferred giving themselves an electric shock rather than sitting quietly. Two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women shocked themselves anyway.

Blaise Pascal wrote, "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." Solitude forces us to face thoughts we'd rather avoid.

Our world is drowning in information yet starving for wisdom—more data, less clarity; more distractions, less stillness; more opinion, less research; more talking, less listening. We live in a world of takedowns and hot takes, an era of constant stimuli. Maybe you've been to Times Square, where light and sound bombard you with invitations to "the good life."

And who are the "wise?" It's not people who actually know you or whom you truly know. You don't know their lives; you only know what they want you to see. They are...the Influencers.

And if it's not a phone, it's talk radio or 24/7 TV news, and you repeat their talking points. Everyone has their own sources, "experts," and info bubbles. Our news feeds, social media, and "facts" differ so radically from others because they are tailored to us. The result of all this dopamine? Emptiness. And it's even more stark for those who've never known life without it.

The younger generation receives more therapy than any before it. About 40 percent have seen a mental health professional, and many have a mental health diagnosis. Gen Z is less likely to date, drive, work, or even hang out with friends. They're more fearful—more so than children of the Depression or WWII.

Our culture primes us to live on a junk-food diet of distractions, pushing real wisdom far from reach. The internet revolves around us: Google, social media algorithms, Netflix, Spotify, and even AI that finishes our sentences.

In his book The Shallows, Nicholas Carr calls the internet "a technology of forgetfulness," describing how our brains get rewired by digital distraction. The more we rely on the web, the more we train ourselves to skim content quickly, losing the ability to concentrate deeply or retain what really matters.

That's the so-called "wisdom" our culture offers—rapid-fire hot takes, ceaseless commentary, and endless speculation without real substance. All noise, no answers.

So: How are you cultivating wisdom? Are you giving yourself space to receive and practice true wisdom? You live in a culture that offers you cheap wisdom everywhere.

Let me share three places to look for wisdom:

First, wisdom is found in God. Proverbs 9:10:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

And how do we get wisdom?

First, we admit we are not wise. In Proverbs, it is always the fool who thinks they are wise. The fool is the person who thinks they know exactly how everything should run. They have an answer to every question. Have you met people who are not curious, who don't have questions but have a lot of answers? They are so convinced they know. But the wise go to God.

The second way is from Proverbs 6:

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise! (Proverbs 6:6)

The Bible tells us that the Bible is not the only place we can find wisdom. There are books and music and beauty and nature. You can gain wisdom by looking at the world the way God would have you look at it—the kind of world where water in the sky turns into beautifully symmetrical crystal flakes, where you lie down in the summer and look up at the stars, those burning flames billions of light years away, and you gain wisdom. And that God, who makes those stars skip across the sky, knows you. You listen to music and consider its beauty. You watch a play or dance and marvel at its creativity.

In The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, the author cites studies that show urban living is changing our brains, increasing our odds of schizophrenia, anxiety, and mood disorders. Today's excess of digital stimuli causes our brains to become overwhelmed. Being in nature gives us fewer choices, allowing the brain's attentional system to function better in higher-order things like deep thinking and reflection. If you want to be wise, go for a walk in the woods.

The last is from Proverbs 13:

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise. (Proverbs 13:20)

Do you want to be wise? You don't just need your Bible or creation and beauty and books and art. You need people. Find people who are wise and hang out with them. Spend time with them. And if you find yourself at odds with wise people, you know, maybe it's you. You are not going to become wise by hanging out with people in your own generation. You must go to people in other generations to help you see the world as it is.

So...where do you find it? Wisdom is found by going to God. And he has given us the means to get there: humility to ask, frailty to acknowledge, his Word to guide you, nature to overwhelm you, and people to walk with you.